READ: Gal. 6:11–14a: …But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…
Paul is bringing his letter to a close. He notes that he wrote this section with his own hand—not dictated it to someone else. He wrote it in large letters (possibly capital letters?). Apparently, Paul wants to place extra emphasis on the sentences that conclude the letter.
He confronts the Judaizers one last time. He unmasks them as hypocrites, maintaining appearances with their talk about circumcision. Their real intent is to avoid persecution. Persecution does, after all, befall those who boast in the cross of Christ, not those who boast in circumcision and works of the law.
This has to do with the Jews, who hate Christ and His church. Avoiding persecution comes at a high price: the cross of Christ is despised, and the church becomes a sanitized variant of the Jewish people.
The Judaizers cling to circumcision, the “flesh of the foreskin,” and they also act according to the flesh—misrepresenting Paul, emphasizing works of the law, and despising the grace of Christ. Furthermore, they are trying to force the Galatians to turn away from Paul and follow their legalistic teaching. Their hypocrisy becomes even clearer in that they themselves do not keep the law (v.13).
This likely refers to the law of Christ: love for God and neighbor through the Spirit of God (see Matt. 22:37–40). But Paul boldly declares in large letters: God forbid that I should boast in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Are you afraid to speak about Jesus because of how people might react?
Sing: Hymn 19:1-3